The Pages Between Us (4 page)

You. Helping me write a note to Jackson. I love it! This takes off so much pressure. You wrote a lot of good stuff. Except for the parts that involve SERIOUS HONESTY. Maybe it should be less obvious? I could ease into the whole “we are soulmates” thing. But then again, what do I know about getting guys to like me? It's possible that whacking him over the head with my feelings is the way to go.

Here are my notes on your note.

TRN OVR →

Except after I send a note, I'll have to get the guts to talk to him in person. I don't think I have those kinds of guts, Piper. If I have any guts at all.

I can't even figure out how to put words on paper that are anywhere close to charming. That's YOUR department.

I don't mean to get all Damsel in Distress Tied to a Train Track, but I'm kind of freaking out. What if I can't figure out a way to let Jackson know I like him? The spring dance is only 154 days away!

And this is exactly the stuff I was telling Ms. Benson today while I was hanging posters in her office at lunchtime. I pressed a thumbtack into her EVERYTHING IS AWESOME! poster. There's a picture of a happy snail looking down a long runway. It's not the most hopeful photo, but I didn't tell her that because she seemed super excited about it.

“So I need to find a way to, umm . . . talk to people.” I didn't tell her “people” meant “Jackson.”

“We can talk about ways to make new friends, Olivia. They're called icebreaker strategies. I have a handout.” Ms. Benson sipped her tea. “And lift that a little higher on the left, aaaand . . . perfect!”

“I don't think I need friends. Or a handout. I just need . . .” What did I need? “Confidence,” I coughed. For some reason, saying that word brings on bronchitis.

She laughed as if she understood why that word was so hard to say. She dug through a pile of papers on her desk. Finally she found what she was looking for. “Aha! THIS is what you need. The school newsletter.”

I'm not sure why, but the fact that it was a “newsletter” rather than a “handout” made me curious. That doesn't make much sense, I know. I jumped down from the stepladder anyway and took it from her.

Piper. THIS was her answer. After-school clubs. Look at this thing.
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I'm sure you're thinking the same things I was thinking:

What's up with the excessive capitalization?

LARPing?

WHO JOINS A YO-YO CLUB???!!

Maybe, just maybe, if they had a club for ANIMAL RESCUE AND TRAINING, then I could see us fitting in. But instead, they have Forensics. Do you know what forensics is? It's studying evidence in order to solve a crime. And for a middle school club, that is very creepy.

That's exactly what I told Ms. Benson.

She waved me off. “No, silly. It's not a creepy club. It's about being a sleuth. Nancy Drew and all that. Girl power!”

She was super peppy about it. But it still didn't persuade me. So we agreed that I would come back tomorrow during lunch to alphabetize her bookshelf. I'd rather do that than have Jackson see me eating lunch alone.

Oh, no. I just had a terrible thought. What if Ms. Benson runs out of projects for me to do? Then where will I be, Piper? Every time I get near the cafeteria doors, I get one of those Immediate Stomachaches. The kind I normally get when I sneak ice cream.

We have to find a way to make sixth grade better. My digestive system can't take this!

After-school clubs . . . is that really the answer?

Ugh! We might be doomed, Piper—and that's me looking on the bright side. Imagine how down I'd be if I didn't have Jackson in my math class. Oh, look at me mentioning him twice.

Sigh.

Our only hope is to make that note to him ROCK HIS WORLD, as a certain author who wishes she was a DALLAS COWBOY CHEERLEADER would say. (I admit I PEEKED at the BOOK when I couldn't sleep last night.)(That brochure makes me want to over-capitalize now.) (Try it—it's sOrt of FuN.)

And I'm wearing purple today. Yep—feeling anxious. I'm going to go pet Blinkie and see if it helps.

Peace, love, bunnies, and UnIcoRns,

Olivia

Grateful for:

1. Ms. Benson needing projects done at lunchtime

2. When I DON'T have a stomachache

3. Unnecessary capitalizaTION

4. You helping me write that note to Jackson

5. The fact that it won't be long until we can hang out at the animal shelter

BETHANY'S BUSINESS

Hey, readers/subscribers/friends/randoms ☺

Thanks for stopping by Bethany's Business! I've been such a bad blogger lately, I'm so sorry. But you know I would never miss Buzz Thursday! Here you'll find all the buzz happening at Kennedy Middle School.